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The British Psych Appreciation Thread

post #1 of 49
Thread Starter 

About six years ago, I picked up an issue of Record Collector (a British mag), and delved into an article titled something like "The 100 Greatest British Psychedelic Albums."

When I finished the article, I realized I only owned a few of these records (Beatles mostly), and I hadn't even heard of the majority of them.

An unexplored treasure trove of music?  "Wow.  I'm in," I thought.

 

And so I began a long an arduous search for all 100 records on the list.  At the time (2004), many of them weren't available on compact disc.  So I settled for needle drops and Russian and Japanese bootlegs where necessary.

 

The years leading up to the present, British Psych slowly became my favorite genre of music.

 

But sadly, since joining head-fi in January, it has been a largely ignored section of my music library. 

Why?  Well, you see, from 1965 to 1968, "stereo" was a fairly new concept.  And, the albums from these peak psychedlic years tend to have very hard panning, and therefore difficult to listen to on headphones.  (YMMV)

 

Or so I thought.  In comes crossfeed to save the day.

Now, listening with crossfeed, my brain can relax and just enjoy the music, instead of trying to process two mono signals.

 

So, now that I'm happily reunited with some of my favorite albums, I figured I'd start a thread that extols the wonderful world of British Psych.

 

I haven't started a thread of this nature.  (All my threads have been self-serving.  Time for me to "give back."  Hahaha.)

 

Maybe somebody will read some of this.  Maybe they'll see something and give it a listen.

That's what I did.

 

And do chime in.  Let's chat.  Share some of your favorites with me.  Ask questions.

I'm no expert, but I do love me the heck out of some British Psych.

And I'll add fresh entries to the thread from time to time, so check back.

(My goal is to avoid the obvious entries, and sharing some of the more obscure and underappreciated artists/albums.)

 

And so, without further ado...

The inaugural entry in the British Psych thread:

 

 

S.F. Sorrow

 

S.F. Sorrow by The Pretty Things

 

This album is, arguably, the first rock opera.  Though fans of The Who's Tommy might contest this.  (The album was recorded before Tommy, but held up and released after because of various circumstances.)

 

The album is, basically, a life cycle about some fictional dude named Sebastian F. Sorrow. 

But, no, I don't really know what it's all about.

Just that it sounds really amazing, and contains some of the most creative moments from this period of rock music.

 

The Pretty Things took a couple years to follow this album up.  And in 1970, Parachute was released.  (Not to be confused with the Coldplay album of similar name.)  Also a masterpiece of late psych.  And worth looking up.

 

And, of course, crossfeed is highly recommended, if not necessary...

 

 

 

post #2 of 49

Thanks for the tip. I dig psych and will be tuned in.

post #3 of 49
post #4 of 49
Thread Starter 

 

Great links, HC.

Prog Archives is one of my favorite sites to visit...

And provides ample evidence of where British Prog would lead.

 

A couple entries today.

 

 

The End - Introspection

 

13.jpg


The End were supposedly friends of Stones member Bill Wyman.  And he arranged an opening slot with the Stones on tour, and produced their one and only album, Introspection.  The band made that one album and vanished, but it stands as an exemplary piece of British Psych.

On side two of the record, Wyman's gardener tells stories between the songs in a thick brogue.  Almost incomprehensible, but hilarious and charming at the same time, just like the songs themselves...

 

 

July - July

 

July+-+Front.jpg

 

This one is definitely on the more obscure end of things.

And, July is one of those countless bands that were playing R&B music at the time, and then heard Sgt. Peppers, and dropped what they were doing to record a pscychedelic record.  Under their new psychedelic guise, they lasted barely a year.  But they left behind this self-titled album, and a couple consummately psych singles ("My Clown" and "The Way"). 

 

 

Stay tuned...

post #5 of 49

McDonald and Giles and their self titled album from 1971.

 

      41GTDFT2PNL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

 

Features Ian McDonald and Michael Giles after they had left King Crimson. Its like early Pink Floyd mixed in with King Crimson and is a totally overlooked psychedelic classic.

post #6 of 49
Thread Starter 

yes.  a wonderful record.

as is the other King Crimson-related Giles, Giles & Fripp.

 

there's also a CD out there somewhere with these guys accompanied by Judy Dyble, Fairport Convention's first vocalist.

post #7 of 49

Steve Hackett's 1975 debut solo album Voyage of The Acolyte

 

            41418K5PH3L._SL500_AA300_.jpg

post #8 of 49

Presently enjoying July, but the recording standard is poor. It really is like listening to a tape recording of the original vinyl!

 

Last one for now, The Nice and their 1967 album The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack

 

            200px-TheNiceDavJack350-1.jpg

post #9 of 49
Thread Starter 

The Nice are one of those great examples of bands that begot bands.

In this case, Keith Emerson would start Emerson, Lake & Palmer.

(and Greg Lake was late of King Crimson...)

oh, the inbreeding ensues... 

post #10 of 49

I never got into Gong, preferring instead the solo output of Steve Hillage starting in 1975 with Fish Rising

 

             51b2FuLLvML.jpg

post #11 of 49
Thread Starter 

i'll have to check that out.

that's hillage's first record after leaving gong, right?

 

post #12 of 49

It is his first solo album, but he never really left Gong, he just had a solo career as well. Gong's personnel (from Wikipedia) constantly changed;

 

Daevid Allen
Gilli Smyth
Steve Hillage
Mike Howlett
Miquette Giraudy
Theo Travis
Chris Taylor
Dave Sturt
Ian East
Former members
Mark Hewins
Didier Malherbe
Pip Pyle
Laurie Allan
Christian Tritsch
Tim Blake
Pierre Moerlen
Mireille Bauer
Shyamal Maitra
Bill Bruford
Graham Clark
Gwyo Zepix
Kawabata Makoto
Josh Pollock
Gabe Rogasner
Cotton Casino
Orlando Allen
Fred Barley
Fabio Golfetti
Gabriel Costa

 

and I think they suffered from too many cooks. I prefer the guitar of Steve Hillage, who is an unsung great IMHO.

post #13 of 49

I hope you don't mind, but this is obviously right up my street, I will keep going. As a curved ball I would recommend Roxy Music, starting with their 1972 self titled debute

 

            mainImage.jpg

 

They were considered more of an art rock band, but considering the psychedelic scene grew out of the art colleges of English cities, there is a huge overlap in styles. As you say, particularly in the early days, it was very incestuous with many band members jumping from one group to another.

post #14 of 49
Thread Starter 

a favorite of mine as well.

however, i strangely like roxy more after Eno left.  think: avalon.

 

weird.  as i pretty much love everything Eno has done...

 

 

post #15 of 49

Going to have to look for that one.  The drumming!  Giles was one of the best.

 

- Ed
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Prog Rock Man View Post

McDonald and Giles and their self titled album from 1971.

 

      41GTDFT2PNL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

 

Features Ian McDonald and Michael Giles after they had left King Crimson. Its like early Pink Floyd mixed in with King Crimson and is a totally overlooked psychedelic classic.

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